China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) speaks at the China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Doha, Qatar on May 12, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

On 4 May, when asked about China and Arab states working together to build the Belt and Road during an interview with Al Jazeera in Beijing, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Arab countries and the Middle East occupy a strategic place in building the Belt and Road. Under the new circumstances, we will not just be each other’s ideal partners in building the Belt and Road for common development and rejuvenation, but also safeguard our common interests and jointly make the international relations more democratic.

Wang Yi said that implementation of the initiative has already begun. Some projects have got off to a start. There are already about 1,000 cooperation projects in the project pool. As our communication with relevant countries deepens, these projects will be put into implementation in due course.

Wang Yi stressed that the reason why there is such a keen interest in the initiative is, first and foremost, it speaks to the mutual need of China and countries along the routes, including the Middle East countries. Many Eurasian countries want to expedite their industrialization process and shift away from the long, old pattern of driving economic development by relying on primary products and general resource products. They hope to enhance their self-development capacity and promote diversity in the economy. As China’s economy has entered a mature stage of industrialization, we have abundant quality industrial capacity and mature technologies that we can offer other countries. In addition, we can also provide personnel training and necessary financing support. Countries in Eurasia, including the Middle East countries, will find China their ideal partner in the industrialization process. And our political will to enhance cooperation and extensive common interests will only help us achieve greater progress in the win-win cooperation. We have developed some big projects in the Middle East, for example, the Yanbu refinery in Saudi Arabia which is already in operation. This is a large petrochemical plant that helps Saudi Arabia raise its level of industrialization and capacity for self-development. We plan to build an industrial park in Oman, and will undertake a silk city project in Kuwait and launch integrated development around several islands.

The Silk Road Economic Belt, in general, has three dimensions: First, connectivity. The goal is to closely connect as much of Eurasian continent as possible by rail, road, air and network to create basic conditions for development. Second, production capacity cooperation. This is to raise the level of industrialization and enhance the capacity for development for various countries through win-win cooperation. And third, cultural and people-to-people exchange. We have fostered along the Silk Road a fine tradition of mutual learning and mutual respect between different civilizations. We hope to carry forward this tradition and conduct diverse cultural exchanges along the route to increase mutual understanding and friendship, and solidify public support for relations between China and these countries. This is what we have been doing.